Cloth-carrier.



PATENTED FEB. 28, 1905.

W. H. HOWARD.

CLOTH CARRIER.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 17, 1904.

[NVE/VTOR tile. 783,787.

Y rrnn STATES Patented February 28, 190% CLOTH UAFKHIEH,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,787, dated February 28, 1905.

Application filed June 17,1904. Serial No. 213,019.

To (LZZ 1.0720111, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stoughton, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cloth-Carriers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines or devices for supporting cloth or other similar material in the forms of folds while in a drying machine or stove; and it consists in the novel construction and combination of the parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

in the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through one of the guides, showing one of the spacingcarriages.

The machine is provided with two parallel guides A, and each guide consists of two upper bars a and two lower bars 6, arranged in pairs with spaces between them. These guides are supported in a horizontal position by means of uprights B or any other suitable supports, and the whole machine is inclosed in a stove or any approved form of drying-machine, which is not more fully shown in the drawings, as it does not form a part of the present invention. The front end portions A of the guides are connected to their main portions b 1 hin es c and are )rovided with fastoning devices 0 for holding them in position. When the machine is loaded with cloth, the front end portions of the guides are turned downward on their hinges, so that the stove door may be closed. The dotted lines tin Fig. 1 indicate a portion of the stove-door.

(l is the driving-shaft, journaled in bearings at the front end portions of the guides and driven by any suitable means, such as a driving-pulley C. A similar drivingshaft C and d riving-pulley C is provided at the other side of the machine, so as to leave room for the entrance of the folds of cloth at the middle part of the machine between the ends of the two said shafts O.

This cloth-carrier is preferably arranged to work in connection with the folding-machine for which a patent was issued to me on June 23, 1903, No. 731,905.

D represents the bars which support the cloth 1') in the form of loops or folds, and (J represents the flexible connections which couple the bars I) together in a series. The

folding-machine delivers the bars and the folds of cloth onto the front end of the machine, and the machine is provided with mechanism for sliding the bars and cloth rearwardly on the guides and arranging the said bars at pro arranged equal distances. so that the folds of cloth can be dried to the best :ulvantage. As each guide is provided with similar spacing and driving mechanism, the description will be confined to the devices at one side of the machine.

E is a pulley secured on the shaft C between the guide-bars, and E is a similar pulley secured on a shaft which is journaled in a suitable bearing-bracket a at the rear part of the machine. F is a belt or other similar flexible driving connection which passes over the said pulleys. A toothed driving'wheelf' is also secured on the shaft 0.

G is a winding-shaft which extends crosswise of the guides at the rear part of the machine and which has a wiiuling-barrcl 7 secured on it. This winding-shaft rests on the guides and is slidahle upon them to a limited extent. A toothed pinion f is secured upon each end of the shaft (i, and these pinions engage with the said wheels f, so that the wind ing-barrel may be revolved.

H is a cord, chain, or other llexible connec tion which is wound on the barrel and secured to the first cross-bar l), which slides on the guides.

l. is a lever pivoted on a pin I, which projects from one of the guide-bars. A rod 1." is pivoted to the upper end of this lever and engages with the shaft G.

J is a tri rlever pivoted to a pin j, which projects from one of the guide-bars, and j a eonnecting-rod pivoted to the lower end of the trip-lever and to the lower end of the lever l.

Une of the upper guidc-bars (r is provided with a toothed rack K is a carriage which slides upon the lower l guide-bars b.

M represents guide-pulleys which are jouri nalcd in the end portions of the carriage. I N is a belt-pulley which is secured on a shaft '22, which is journaled at the middle part of the carriage.

The driving-belt F, hereinbefore described, passes under the guide-pulleys M and over the pulley N, so that the shaft 01. is revolved continuously. A toothed wheel or sprocketwheel m. is also secured on the shaft 71 and operates as a spacing-wheel for the bars which support the cloth.

A toothed pinion p is secured upon the shaft w and is arranged so as to gear into the rack l P represents rollers on the shaft a. which I run on the lower guide-bars 7), so that the carriage may run easily.

R is a trip-lever pivoted to one of the guidebars in the path of the bars D and which engages with the shaft 22 or any convenient part of the carriage.

The operation of the machine is follows: When the machine is started, the pinions p are out of gear with the racks, as shown in the drawings, and the pinions f" are in gear with their driving-wheels. The winding-shaft is revolved so as to wind the chain on the barrel and draw the bars D and the folds of cloth rearwardly along the guides. The bars D are dragged over the spacing-wheels m, and when the first bar D is drawn against the trip-levers J it slides the winding-shaft rearwardly, so that the pinions f are placed out of gear with their driving-wheels and the barrel is no longer revolved. Before the first bar D strikes the trip-levers .I, however, it strikes the trip-levers R and turns them on their pivotpins. These trip-levers R push the carriages forward so that the pinions p engage with the racks Z at about the same time that the winding-barrel is thrown out of action. The carriages commence to slide forward on their guide-bars, and the bars D are drawn over the spacing-wheels m and deposited on the guides at prearranged equal distances apart, according to the proportions of the various parts of the driving mechanism. When the carriages arrive at the front ends of the guides, the machine is loaded with cloth in the form of folds. The machine is then stopped, and the cloth is dried while supported in the form of folds or loops by the said bars D.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a cloth-carrier, the combination,with parallel guides provided with hinged front end portions, of means for holding the said front end portions in line with the main portions, and spacing mechanism for arranging the cloth upon the said guides.

2. In a clothcarrier, the combination,with guides for the bars which support the cloth, of a toothed d riving-wheel journaled at the rear end of the said guides and provided with means for revolving it, a slidable windingshaft supported by the guides, a flexlble connection between the said shaft and the said bars, a toothed pinion secured on the said shaft,

and trip-lever mechanism for sliding the said shaft and moving the said pinion into and out of gear with the said driving-wheel.

3. In a cloth-carrier, the combinatiomwith guides for the bars which support the cloth, of a toothed drivingwheel journaled at the rear end of the said guides and provided with means for revolving it, a slidable windingshaft supported by the guides, a flexible connection between the said shaft and the said bars, a toothed pinion secured on the said shaft, a lever pivoted to one of the said guides, a rod pivoted to the upper end of the said lever and to the said shaft, a trip-lever also pivoted to one of the said guides and arranged in the path of the said bars, and a connectingrod between the lower part of the said triplever and the lower partof the aforesaid lever.

4. In a clothcarrier,the combination, with guides for the bars which support the cloth, and a toothed rack carried by one of the said guides, of a spacing-carriage slidable in the said guides, a spacing-wheel carried by the said carriage, a toothed pinion revolving the said spacing-wheel, dri ving mechanism for revolving the said wheel and pinion,and a trip-lever for placing the said pinion into engagement with the said rack,

5. In a cloth-carrier,the combination, with guides for the bars which support the cloth, and a toothed rack carried by one of the said guides. of a spacing-carriage slidable in the said guides, a belt-pulley and two guide-pulleys journaled in the said carriage, drivingpulleys and a driving-beltwhich passes over all the said pulleys, a spacing-wheel which revolves with the said belt-wheel, a toothed pinion which revolves with the said spacingwheel, and a trip-lever for placing the said pinion into engagement with the said rack.

6. In a cloth-carrier, the combination,with

guides for the bars which support the cloth.

of spacing-carriages slid able on the said guides and provided with spacing-wheels for engaging with the said bars, a winding-shaft journaled at the rear end of the said guides, driving devices which revolve the said windingshaft and spacing wheels simultaneously, mechanism for sliding the spacing-carriages and trip mechanism operated by one of the said bars, so that the winding mechanism is stopped when the carriage-sliding mechanism is started.

In testimony whereofI afl'ix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ILLIAM H. HOIVARD. IVitnesses:

ALICE J. MURRAY, FREDK. K. DAGGETT. 

